


the future's right in front of me

by eberbae (dustyjournal)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Future Fic, Kid Fic, M/M, Oilers Skills Competition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 16:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13574637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustyjournal/pseuds/eberbae
Summary: Connor wakes up on February 6, 2028, the day of the Oilers Skills Competition. Life is a lot different than in 2018.





	the future's right in front of me

**Author's Note:**

> Yesterday's skills comp gave me a few too many feelings, so here's a fic that no one asked for. 
> 
> Minor characters throughout, many original. 
> 
> Thanks to remembermyfic for the beta, and to LJ and Gina for the encouragement <3

Connor wakes up and he’s already excited for the day. He has to eat, get ready for the Skills Competition, then -

Wait. This isn’t his bed. It definitely isn’t the bed he went to sleep in last night, and he doesn’t recognize this room at all.

He has about two seconds to be incredibly confused before Leon - _Leon_ \- is standing at the door, a soft smile on his face.

“Morning sleepyhead,” Leon says, walking over slowly. This must be a dream, because once Leon reaches the bed, he leans over and gives Connor a quick kiss on the lips. It makes Connor’s heart race, and it’s only when they’re that close that Connor realizes Leon has some grey in his beard, his hair.

Okay, definitely a dream. But Connor kind of wants to make it last as long as he can.

“Maybe you’re just up too early,” Connor retorts, moving back down to put his head on the pillow, pull the bedsheets up to his chin.

Leon laughs, over the sound of some footsteps out the door. “ _Someone_ has to feed the kids.”

And wait, what? Kids? But before Connor can even open his mouth, there’s a small knock on the door.

“The kettle is boiled,” a boy with jet black hair, no older than ten, says.

Leon huffs, though. “Auf Deutsch, bitte.”

And that’s… Leon definitely just spoke German, but Connor understood it. And not just that; this is becoming way too real to be a dream.

“Das Wasser kocht,” the boy says, smirking. Sure enough, Connor understands that too.

What is going _on?_

Leon kisses Connor on the forehead. “Two eggs or three?” He asks.

“Three, please.”

Leon furrows his brows, though. “Is everything okay?”

This isn’t the time nor place to say that nothing is okay, so Connor just rubs his eyes and sits up. “Yeah! Just a little tired still, I guess.”

Leon smiles at him, something familiar and warm and a little too much for Connor to process. “I’ll make you a green tea, then.”

And that’s when Connor notices it: a thin silver ring on Leon’s left hand. But then Leon’s walking back out and Connor has time to check his own left hand - sure enough, there’s a silver ring, almost a twin, on his own ring finger.

He scrambles for his phone, some ultra-thin thing on the sidetable that has a picture of Connor and Leon on it, two kids with them - the black-haired boy, and a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl, probably around four. She’s standing in the Stanley Cup, a huge grin on her face.

He unlocks his phone, finds the date, and…

_February 6, 2028_

What.

He panics and does the first thing that comes to his mind: he finds Stromer’s number and hits _call._

“Charlie, dude, I thought we went through how to cook an omelette last week,” is Stromer’s greeting, which brings up way more questions than answers.

“Um, who?” Connor asks.

Stromer’s quiet for too long. “Davo, you’re kidding me.”

Connor takes a breath. “I wish I was. Something’s wrong, Stromer.”

Stromer takes too long to answer again, but then Connor’s phone is ringing and it’s Stromer, wanting to switch the call to FaceTime. When Connor answers, he’s not as shocked as he thinks he should be to see that Stromer’s hair is cut short, more grey in it than is in Leon’s.

“What’s wrong, man,” Stromer says. “Start from the beginning.”

Connor takes a breath and opts for the full truth. “I went to bed last night and it was 2018. I wake up this morning and its 2028, and apparently I’m married to Leon.”

Stromer, bless his heart, doesn’t look phased at all. In fact, he’s smiling. “I remember getting a similar call, about...yep, ten years ago.”

Connor’s heart beats double-time. “What?”

“Ten years ago, you called me giving me very strict instructions for this moment, so just give me a second…” He trails off and the screen goes on pause, but he’s back in less than a minute. “Okay, I have the exact note here: First tell me not to panic, that today is going to be great, and that you’ll be back in your time tomorrow. Got it?”

Connor takes a breath. He knows he can trust Stromer, that he wouldn’t mess with him. “Got it.”

Stromer nods. “Okay. Next, you said ‘Tell me that I somehow traveled to the future, where I’ve been married to Leon for six years, adopted one wonderful boy named Charles and had a little girl named Annalise through in-vitro.’”

Connor’s still focusing on breathing deeply, but...wow.

“I actually remember you had quite the grin while you were telling me this, by the way,” Stromer says, smirking. “The only other thing you made sure I tell you is you need to try saying something in German, because you’re fluent now.”

Connor can’t help but laugh. “I’ll do that,” he says. “You promise there’s nothing else I should know?”

Stomer smiles, his face getting a little soft. “I know you were a lot more determined to ask Leon out right after you called me, back then. Um, and I guess you’d like to know that Mitch and I are married.”

“Stromer!” Connor exclaims, grinning as wide as possible. “That’s awesome. Tell him I say hi.”

“I will,” Stromer promises. “Smell ya later, Davo. And have fun today.”

He hangs up and Connor takes another deep breath. Okay. He can do this.

What he’s not prepared for is for his knees to creak in a way he’s really not used to when he stands up. He’s...wow, he’s 31 now; he wonders what else he doesn’t know about his body.

This house is nice, Connor thinks. Not too big, but open and bright. He hears some blocks fall in a purple-walled room and Connor walks in to see the little girl - Annalise - with her lip wobbling, eyes teary.

“Annie, honey,” Connor says reflexively, kneeling down to her height. “Are you okay?”

She’s not crying for real, thankfully, but her little voice is high and shaky when she replies, “The block fell on my toe.”

“Let’s take a look,” Connor says, and laughs softly when Annalise simply sticks out her leg. Her foot is a little red, but there’s no cuts. Connor kisses each toe lightly, making Annalise giggle. “All better, right? You’re a toughie.”

Annalise smiles. “Super tough! Like you and papa.” She flexes her biceps and makes what Connor can only assume is her game face, and his heart grows three sizes.

He kisses her forehead and says, “C’mon, let’s go have some breakfast.”

She holds her arms up and exclaims, “Hoch!”

Connor indulges, carrying her to the kitchen. Charles is flipping an omelette, Leon supervising, and they both look at Connor and smile.

“Anything I can do to help?” He asks, kissing Leon on the cheek, then holding Annalise out so she can do the same.

Leon rubs Annalise’s head, saying, “just get this little one fed. Your omelette will be ready soon.”

Connor readjusts Annalise on his hip and asks, “Oatmeal?”

“Ya ya ya!” Annalise replies, clapping her hands. It’s only then that Connor realizes he’s spoken in German, and smiles to himself.

Breakfast is great, and Charles looks ridiculously proud of himself for successfully making three omelettes. Connor wants to ask him so many questions - when he started learning to cook, what he likes to cook, what _grade_ he’s in, even - but he knows he can’t. He just has to play along.

Then it’s getting ready for the Skills Competition, and Connor lets Annalise choose her own outfit. She picks an Oilers jersey easily, and Connor’s happy to see that the logo hasn’t changed. It’s got Connor’s name and number on it, and he feels tears at his eyes when she has it on, but he pushes that aside when she points at a bright pink tutu.

“I wanna wear Valtina’s tutu!” Annalise exclaims, and it takes Connor a second to realize that she’s referring to Valentina, Looch’s eldest daughter.

“Okay, baby,” Connor says. “But it’s going to be chilly on the ice; can you wear some pants too?”

She picks out a pair of white leggings, insisting that she can put them on herself. Connor leaves the room, letting his little girl - _his little girl_ , he can barely wrap his head around it - get herself dressed so he can finish getting ready himself.

It’s a whirlwind of Leon going through a checklist of everything they need to bring, from snacks to toques to some books, that Connor doesn’t really notice what Annalise has chosen for footwear until Leon points it out.

“Annalise, honey, your feet will be cold in your soccer shoes,” Leon says kindly.

Annalise pouts, this heartbreaking thing that makes Connor think that she has them both wrapped around her finger. “I want them!”

“No boots?” Leon asks.

She shakes her head. “No boots.”

Leon smiles. “Okay. But I’ll bring them just in case, okay?”

She seems okay with that, and Connor and Leon share a smile.

  


Getting over the fact that they actually own a giant F-150 now, Connor walks into Rogers place, holding Annalise and Leon’s hands. A woman in a Strome jersey is waiting for them a few steps down the hallway, holding one kid in her arms, and has one standing on either side of her.

“Hi Charlie!” The boy on the woman’s right, says, waving enthusiastically. He’s about the same age as Charles, and he looks so much like Ryan it’s scary.

"Hey Jackson," Charles replies, a little quieter but happy. The two start talking, walking away from the group, and everyone else follows.

“How are you, Jules?” Leon asks.

Julie smiles, shrugs her shoulders the best she can with a baby in her arms. "Good. Busy. Excited for your trip?”

“I don’t know, are we excited for DisneyWorld, Annalise?” Leon asks.

And, well, that sets Annalise off on all the princesses she's going to meet, all the rides she's going to go on. She trips over her words a few times, and not all her sentences are full and correct, but they all get the gist. Then they're at the dressing room, and Julie smiles at them.

"We'll see you on the ice," she says, then holds her hand out for Annalise. "Wanna go play soccer while your dads get dressed?"

How Annalise has the energy to get even more excited, Connor doesn't know, but she’s practically vibrating as they walk away.

Leon kisses Connor on the cheek, pulling away quickly, but Connor follows and gives Leon a kiss on the lips, deepening it when Leon opens up for it a bit.

“Mmm, later,” Leon says.

Connor doesn’t really want to wait for later, wants to live out this fantasy that’s been in his mind for years now, but he gathers the self-restraint to pull away. There are a lot of unfamiliar faces in the dressing room, but Connor’s incredibly relieved to see that Nursey’s still there; Drake and Matty, too.

Drake waves at them when they come in, and Connor can see a wedding ring on his finger - Matty’s, too. They were in the middle of a fling ten years ago; Connor hopes they stayed together.

As Connor’s finishing putting on his pads, a guy walks in who looks so familiar, it’s on the tip of his tongue. That is, until Leon yells out “Yam!” and Connor realizes that it’s Kailer, who’s grown into his jawline, his hair grown out into a long flow, years of muscle bulked on. Kailer’s distracted, though, because he walks right up to Drake and Matty.

“Maiya took a spill,” he says quickly. “She’s fine, but…”  That’s when they hear the wailing, and Kailer says, “do you want to go out there or can she come in?”

Drake and Matty look over to Connor, who gives them an awkward thumbs-up, so Kailer opens the door to the dressing room and a girl who’s barely old enough to walk runs in, yelling loudly, face red. Drake holds out his arms and she stumbles into them, and he holds her close as she wails. Matt pets her back, kissing her head, and Drake shushes her until her screams turn to quiet whimpering.

Connor’s heart breaks a little bit, but he’s also indescribably proud to see how good Drake and Matt are to their little girl. She clings to Drake, refuses to let go as the team treks out to the ice. The fans haven’t been let in yet, and it still hits Connor like it always does - the enormity of Rogers Place, the brightness of the ice, how soon the stands will be filled with families who just want to see the players and kids having a great time.

They sign some jerseys, go over the structure of the next couple of hours, and that’s when Connor learns that he’s only entered for the stickhandling competition.

“Did I win fastest skater too many times or something?” He asks good-naturedly to Leon.

Leon smiles, bumps into Connor a little. “You haven’t done it for three years, babe. Or does not being the fastest not bother you anymore?”

It stings a little - Connor should have figured that he’d slow down over the years, but hey, he’s here, he’s got the young mentality back.

“Let’s see if I’ve got it in me,” he says, and goes to the organizers to put his name in. They have to bump a guy whom Connor doesn’t know, but he doesn’t seem to mind at all, happy to step aside for his captain.

As he’s walking back to Leon, he notices that Nursey’s leaning over the boards, joking around with Charles and Jackson. Just beside them, a young woman is dancing with Annalise, and Connor’s skating over there without a second thought.

The young woman spins Annalise, and she’s squealing “Again, Valtina, again!” when Connor leans against the boards. So this must be what Valentina grows up to look like. Connor looks around for Looch, sees him in a suit. He’s not really sure if he’s injured, retired, part of the coaching staff, or what, but he looks great.

“Daddy!” Annalise yells, waving. “Valtina’s dancing with me!”

Connor smiles at both Annalise and Valentina. “That’s great, baby. I’ll be back in a little while, okay?”

“Okay! Play safe!” Annalise says, jumping up and down.

Connor pushes down the urge to hold her, ask her who taught her to say that, skate her around the ice instead of going back down the tunnel for the dramatic walk-in. He doesn’t, though, and checks in with Charles quickly. Charles is too focused showing Uncle Darnell his new playlist, so Connor goes back to the entrance tunnel where Leon’s standing.

“Nursey can never get enough of his godkids,” Leon says, shaking his head. Just that fact makes Connor feel even more secure - this almost seems too good to be true, but it’s real, they’re here.

It’s a bit of a blur after that. The fans seem impossibly louder than Connor’s ever heard, and that’s when he looks up and notices the banners - three in the last ten years, a feat he’s only dreamed of. It’s exhilarating but he tries to get his mind off of it, get the years out of his brain.

Connor can see Charles passing pucks with a few other kids, Annalise included. She doesn’t have a stick, though, and has instead opted for kicking the pucks. Valentina is right there, holding her upright, but then the kids are shepherded off the ice so they can set up for fastest skater.

The on-ice interviewer picks a one of the younger teammates to interview - their rookie, Troy. From the interview, Connor gathers that he’s been having an incredible rookie year, and then…

“So, your captain has also signed up for the fastest skater. Do you think you’ve got him beat?” The reporter asks.

“Definitely,” Drake says, elbowing Connor. Connor laughs, but listens intently to Troy’s response.

“Uh, I don’t know,” Troy says, putting his hands on his hips. “I guess we’ll just have to see.”

Connor likes the kid already, and then the camera’s on him, so he points his fingers at his eyes, then points to Troy, the typical “I’m watching you” signal. Everyone laughs, and then Matt’s lining up for his shot at fastest skater.

Connor knows his own best time from his early twenties is probably unbeatable, but his legs feel good, strong under him. He’s the third on his team to go, Troy the only one left after him. When the whistle blows, he shoots off like a canon, flying around the ice. He can hear the roar of the crowd as he goes, the whistles from his teammates as he finishes.

He looks up and sees his time - 13.626 seconds. His mouth drops; he didn’t doubt himself per se, but he didn’t really expect to break 14.

Unfortunately, that’s not the winning time. A guy named Greene has him beat with 13.554. That’s fine, though, because Leon’s smiling at him like Connor’s just won, and that’s better than anything Connor could ask for.

Then Troy’s off, and Connor’s heard people explain what it looks like to see _him_ skate around, and now he thinks he gets it. The kid is practically flying, his edgework so precise that Connor’s transfixed. It’s really no surprise when he crosses the line and the timer says 13.493 seconds. Connor cheers loudly, clapping Troy on the back when he skates in.

He gets a small break before he’s up for puck control, so he skates over to Charles and Annalise, helps them onto the ice. Charles holds his hand out for a high five, and Connor pulls him into a smothering hug after.

“Daaad,” Charles whines.

Connor pulls away, looks at Charles with a pride he knows he’ll understand more one day. “You’ll be faster than me when you’re older,” he says, sure of it.

Charles grins, giggles a little. “Way faster.”

“Daddy!” Annalise calls out, “Hoch! Hoch!”

Connor picks her up, and she steals the hat on his head, puts it on her own. It falls over her eyes, but she just pushes it back and grins.

Troy’s skating by with his phone out, filming it. “Wave hi to Instagram!” He calls out, and Connor, Annalise, and Charles wave, Annalise blowing a big kiss before Troy skates away.

Connor hears Leon’s name called out, and that’s when notices that it’s Leon’s turn for the accuracy challenge. From what the announcer’s said, Connor gets the impression that Leon’s a consistent champion at this, so it’s really no surprise when Leon gets all the light-up targets on the first try, beating everyone else’s times by at least three seconds.

It gets Connor a little hot, if he’s honest. Leon winks at him when he skates in, then high-fives Charles and Annalise.

“My team is winning,” Leon gloats.

“For now,” Connor retorts.

There’s a few more events before puck control, Connor’s last event. He and Leon take the opportunity to take some official pictures with their kids, Nursey, other teammates.

Then it’s puck control, and he’s first up this time. He’s pretty proud of how he does, actually; his wrist twinges a little near the end, but not insofar as to slow him down or make him slip up. He wins it, putting his team in the lead now, and he knows he’s not imagining the way Leon’s looking at him, eyes dark.

Their kids aren’t nearby, so maybe that’s what gives Leon the courage to mutter, “you’re so hot, Con.”

Connor flushes a bit, not used to Leon saying those kind of things to him but liking it. A lot.

“Careful, I might think you only like me for my hockey,” he teases.

Leon huffs. “You know that’s never been true.”

And just the weight of that, the way Leon looks at Connor like he’s the best thing that’ll ever happen to him, warms Connor’s heart as much as holding Annalise and playing with Charles did.

They give away some signed sticks and hats at the end of it all, but then they’re heading back to the dressing room, and Connor’s suddenly exhausted. He slumps into his seat, but gets changed quickly. He and Leon had promised they could watch two movies tonight, which sounds like exactly what he needs.

He says goodbye to everyone, knowing he’ll get to know them someday, sparing the time to give Nursey a big hug.

The rest of the night truly is perfect, the kind of domestic bliss that Connor’s always known he’s wanted. Annalise snuggles into Connor’s lap, and Connor curls into Leon's side. Charles picks the first movie, a superhero movie with graphics that blow Connor’s mind. Annalise is asleep before the end of it, so Connor and Leon tuck her into bed before starting the next movie.

She doesn’t even stir as they tuck her under the covers, both kissing her on the forehead. Leon kisses Connor on the cheek, half-hugging him before they turn to go back to the TV room.

“She had a big day,” Connor says, sighing.

“And she did great,” Leon replies.

They’re back at the couch now, and Charles already has the next movie queued up - _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_.

“I know we’ve seen it a bunch of times, but can we watch it? Please?” he asks, smiling big.

Leon shakes his head, smiling, but says, “yeah, of course we can. I’ll get more popcorn.”

Connor settles in, can’t stop looking at Charles. When Charles notices, Connor says, “You know, I was never a big _Harry Potter_ fan until I met your papa.”

Charles furrows his eyebrows. "But you were Oliver Wood for Halloween, like, three times!"

“He realized he had been missing out once I made him read all the books,” Leon cuts in, handing Charles and Connor each their own bowl of popcorn.

Connor smiles Leon, maybe a little dopily, thinking about how he’s only on the third book back in his own time. “And you refused to tell me any spoilers.”

“I hate spoilers!” Charles exclaims. “Can we start the movie now?”

Connor catches Leon mouthing the words a few times, thinks about how Leon makes fun of him for doing the same thing with _Friends_. There’s so much he’ll learn about Leon in these next ten years too, and his stomach flutters with that thought.

When the movie’s over, Charles is half-asleep and Leon has to pick him up to carry him to bed. Connor’s slow to get into bed, wants to make this day last as long as it can, but eventually he and Leon get settled under the covers.

Knowing this future exists, that this is going to be okay one day, comforts Connor more than anything else. He’s excited to get back to his own time and go after Leon, go after what he wants without being paranoid or worried about it.

He falls asleep curled around Leon, excited to live every day until this point, and every day after it.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm racetothecup on twitter, if you ever feel like yelling more about small children or the Oilers in general :D


End file.
